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The Grumman F4F Wildcat is an American carrier-based fighter aircraft that entered service in 1940 with the United States Navy, and the British Royal Navy where it was initially known as the Martlet. [2]
Built by the Eastern Aircraft Division of General Motors, the FM-2 Wildcat essentially is an improved version of the famous Grumman F4F-4. Recognized by its taller fin than the F4F, the...
The Wildcat was America’s primary front-line, carrier-based fighter at the start of the war. Although the airplane was outmatched by its adversaries, U.S. Navy and Marine Corps pilots developed superior tactics which soon allowed Wildcat squadrons to stifle the Japanese advance.
The FM-2 was the most numerous and best performing Wildcat with 1,350 horsepower, bigger vertical tail surfaces and more fuel capacity, earning the name the “Wilder Wildcat.” The FM-2 had four wing guns versus six in the Grumman F4F-4.
General Motors/Eastern Aircraft produced 5,280 FM variants of the Wildcat during WWII. The FM-2 Wildcat was adequate for small escort carriers against submarine and shore threats in the second world war. These relatively modest ships carried only two types of aircraft.
The FM-2 Wildcat was built by General Motors under license during the second half of the Pacific War. The Wildcat was the front line Navy/Marine Corps fighter at the outset of World War II and...
General Motors (Eastern Aircraft Division) FM-2 Wildcat. Originally designed as a biplane in the rapidly evolving aeronautical climate of 1936, the Grumman Wildcat quickly transformed into the familiar square-winged monoplane configuration before its first flight in 1937.
